Today’s Plan:
- Student Hours: 1180D this Wednesday 1:30-3:00. Thursday 12:30-2:00
- Quesitons
- Google Drive
- Homework
Questions
Here we go.
What will be the difference from the 1st proposal paper to the next several ones?
The proposal paper maps out the kinds of writing you will do when you write your medium.com articles. The proposal follows a specific template; this is the only time I’ll tell you exactly what you have to do. Your medium.com articles will vary in their purpose–you might write a comparison essay, an evaluative essay, a definition essay, a recommendation essay, a review essay (and in reality all writing is some combination of these various forms). I will introduce you to these various kinds of essays next week.
How many topics should we have?
You need to have two ideas for posts in the proposal. You might think about upcoming events. You might already have an idea for a comparative essay (DnD’s worst character class, best value Super Bowl bets, analyzing the Florida Governor’s race). For each idea, you should have three articles that you’d read for that post (assuming they are already published). If it is an idea for a future post, then you should map out for me where you expect to find articles.
How specific should the topics be? For my proposal should there be two strong theses, or wait to choose one topic?
This is a very difficult question to answer, since “specific” is a subjective adjective. In some cases, you might have a question that you already think you know the answer to. So there might be a “thesis” (note: as a college writing professor I hate the word “thesis” and use it only when forced). I want to have a concrete sense of what you want to do in two articles. I want you to have collected material that will contribute to those goals. I know generic bullshit when I see it. I don’t want to see that.
Should we find articles only in the green and yellow?
Here’s some helpful language for thinking about what we do in the humanities when we analyze texts. We have an object of study and a critical lens. We use the lens to examine the object. It is ok to select articles from the red and yellow sections as objects of study, but they cannot be used as part of a critical lens or as evidence for an argument. Put simply: only pick from the bottom of the yellow or the red if your plan is to fact-check. If this is too confusing, then stick to the green.
Will I have to do projects in Slideshow or be able to present my pieces to the class
Our final project this semester is a multimedia video. We are all going to make short movies. Fun!
But I don’t think that’s what you mean. Let me be clear:
- Members of your writing group will read all of your rough drafts. You will be sharing your work in progress.
- You will post “final” drafts of your 4 articles to medium.com, a public/online blog/magazine. You will tag those posts. Classmates (and presumably strangers) might read your work and comment on it. This course emphasizes the importance of writing in public both because 1) it trains you to be better, engaged citizens in a digital democracy and 2) research shows it makes you better writers when you engage real audiences (instead of just handing your paper to a teacher). You aren’t writing papers for a class. You are posting articles to the Internet. There’s a difference.
I’m concerned my topic might be too vague, is it too late to switch topics?
No it is not too late. Remember that I have extended student hours today and tomorrow (1180D this Wednesday 1:30-3:00. Thursday 12:30-2:00 (extended hours this week to talk proposals). I’ve been teaching variations of this project for 10 years now. I have a a pretty good Spider-sense about what might work and what sounds sketchy. Come by for a chat. I am also really good at finding stuff on the Internet.
It seems like there isn’t an actual topic/format I’m supposed to be writing about. I have a topic picked, but I’m still unsure what I’m supposed to write about for these papers. What am I trying to write about with these papers?
I’ve been expecting this question and am a bit surprised I got through so many other questions before I found it. I want to pick out one word that appears twice in this question: “suppose.” “Suppose” comes from the Latin roots Sub (under) and Ponere (place). While we mean it as a kind of conjecture, it is a kind of conjecture that imagines an answering authority some other place. When you ask what kind of writing you are supposed to do, or what “actual” topic you are supposed to have, you are conjecturing that there is an authority “under” (out there, beyond) that has answers to this question. And you “suppose” that authority is me.
It. Is. Not.
I am here to teach you rhetorical principles of argumentation and composition. But the “topic” of your writing is up to you. Time and again research shows that good writing has to be tied to both 1) authority (something you know something about) and 2) interest. I have no idea what you know. I have no idea what you are interested in. You have to articulate those things to me.
I can tell you if you handle your authority responsibly. I can help you explore your interests more thoroughly. And I certainly can help you communicate your interests with clarity and, hopefully, grace.
But let me urge you to think about University education a bit differently: don’t expect me to tell you what to do. You might be used to an educative system in which a teacher tells you a bunch of stuff and then measures whether you were listening. That’s not really how universities work, especially in the humanities. Here we are more likely to afford you opportunities to do stuff, and then try and help you do the thing better. Sure, there are times when I have to specifically measure a capacity (say MLA formatting). But I’m not going to show you how to do MLA formatting. I am going to point you to a bunch of resources on MLA formatting and then evaluate if you were able to teach yourself MLA formatting.
Give a person a fish. Teach a person to fish.
Do you prefer more paraphrasing or quotes?
Paraphrasing, because people are less likely to read long quotes. The more you can aptly summarize someone else’s ideas, the better. Concision is a skill.
Do you have to hyperlink quotes if you hyperlinked the article already?
Nah. One hyperlink should do it. We’ll talk more about transitioning into evidence soon.
What are some examples of good intro paragraphs?
Good question! We will talk about intro’s in coming weeks.
How are we turning this thing in?
You will create a Google Doc, get the shareable link, set the shareable link to “anyone with the link can edit,” and submit that link to Canvas. I’ll go over this today.
What do I do if I run out of stuff to talk about on my proposal?
Read more stuff and summarize it. Give me concrete examples. Don’t just say “Sally Smith writes about Trump’s proposed tax law.” Write something like “Sally Smith proposes that while Trump’s new tax law will improve our GDP and unemployment, it won’t improve wave stagnation or underemployment. To prove this, she turns to a study by Yale economist Jennifer McJennyface. McGennyface examined yadda yadda yadda. Claims and evidence. Claims and evidence.
Can you explain the differences between MLA and APA?
Yes.
Is there a limit on outside articles/authors we can use?
The more you read, and read well, the better. PS I love you.
How many articles do we need to cite?
3. At least 3 per medium article. You have to “close read” at least one part of an article. No drive by citations allowed. PS SIGH.
Does the “Works Cited” part of your paper count towards the 700-1000 words?
Nope.
How tough of a grader are you?
Hmm. Tough one. 50% of the course grade is turning things in on time. I want to reward your effort. Writing if fucking hard. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. So I want to reward you for committing to the work.
I can be, um, blunt, in my feedback. I will let you know when I think you are wasting my time. But I can also be gracious. I try to provide you a stream of consciousness as to what your writing is making me think.
Would it be inappropriate or unprofessional to refer to the audience/reader as “you” or use the word “us”?
Oh God, let’s talk about whether you can use I in your paper.
Answer: different communities have different ways of writing and speaking. Some are more casual. Some are more “professional.” As you are reading material, identify how the writers you like write. Write like them.
Google Drive / Docs
You will need a gmail account. Create a new gmail account using a pseudonym. I’m insignificantwrangler@gmail.com
Homework
Complete the draft of your proposal. Bring a print copy of your proposal to Friday’s class (over in McKee).
